Michael (Mike) Leighton

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BIOGRAPHY

BORN: Sarnia, Ontario, May 19, 1981.
HOME:
HEIGHT: 6'2".
WEIGHT: 175 lbs.
UNIFORM #: 30 (Chicago 2002-03), 49 (Norfolk, Chicago 2003-06, Portland, Nashville, Philadelphia, Carolina), 31 (Rochester), 50 (Buffalo), 29 (Albany).
CATCHES: Left

STYLE:
STRENGTHS: Excellent work ethic. Good size and sound fundamentals.
WEAKNESSES: Very slight for his frame, and needs to fill out without compromising flexibility.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"Plays a solid game and is among league leaders." (Tim Sassone, The Hockey News Future Watch 2001)

"Leighton rounds out the 'Hawks contingent of OHL goalies who had impressive seasons last year. Like Andersson, Leighton has very good size and takes up a large portion of the net. The Blackhawks think that at least one of the three will pan out for them." (The Sports Forecaster 2001-02, p. 147)

"An AHL all-star as a rookie, the Hawks love his reassuring presence." (Tim Sassone, The Hockey News Future Watch 2002)

"Leighton was outstanding in his first year of professional hockey, ranking Top 5 in the AHL in goals-against average with a 2.14 and sporting a .920 save percentage. Leighton was named an AHL all-star and maintained his Top 5 goals-against average in the playoffs despite the Norfolk Admirals losing out in the first round. The Hawks like his size and technique but he'll likely continue to learn the professional game in Norfolk this fall." (The Sports Forecaster 2002-03, p. 141)

"Leighton went 0-3-1 in a brief stint with the Hawks, but there was nothing wrong with the way he played. Two of the losses were on the road at Detroit and St. Louis. Leighton's size and poise under pressure are impressive, but [Chicago GM Mike] Smith is reluctant to discuss his future without mentioning Craig Andersson, the other Norfolk goalie whom the Hawks think is an another excellent prospect. But other NHL scouts like Leighton better than Andersson." (Tim Sassone, The Hockey News Future Watch 2003, p. 24)

"When Jocelyn Thibault was the starter, Leighton's future was fairly bright. With Nikolai Khabibulin as the current obstacle, Leighton may need a change of address. Otherwise, the lanky, technically sound puck-stopper may need to get used to the backup role. He'll again battle Craig Anderson for second-string." (The Sports Forecaster 2005-06, p. 102)

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SEASON RECORDS:

REGULAR SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   T  OL     GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
98-99 Windsor Spitfires OHL       28   1389   4  17   2        112   4.84     844   .867     0   0   2     2
99-00 Windsor Spitfires OHL       42   2272  17  17   2        118   3.12    1062   .889     1   0   1     6
00-01 Windsor Spitfires OHL       54   3035  32  13   5        138   2.73    1537   .910     2   0   0    12
01-02 Norfolk Admirals AHL        52   3114  27  16   8        111   2.14    1380   .920     6   0   1     2
02-03 Norfolk Admirals AHL        36   2183  18  13   5         91   2.50    1039   .912     4   0   0     4
      Chicago Blackhawks NHL       8    447   2   3   2         21   2.82     241   .913     1   0   0     0
03-04 Chicago Blackhawks NHL      34   1988   6  18   8         99   2.99     987   .900     2   0   2     2
      Norfolk Admirals AHL        18   1081  10   7   1         33   1.83     444   .926     1   0   1     2
04-05 Norfolk Admirals AHL        41   2318  20  16   3         78   2.02     988   .921     7   0   1    15
05-06 Rochester Americans AHL     40   2316  15  22       1    124   3.21    1102   .887     2   0   1    23
06-07 Portland Pirates AHL        16    962   8   6       1     37   2.31     412   .910     2   0   0     2
      Nashville Predators NHL      1     20   0   0       0      2   6.07      10   .800     0   0   0     0
      Philadelphia Phantoms AHL    5    270   2   0       2      7   1.56     135   .948     0   0   0     0
      Philadelphia Flyers NHL      4    195   2   2       0     12   3.69     102   .882     0   0   0     0
THREE (3) NHL SEASONS             47   2649  10  23  10   0    134   3.04    1340  0.900     3   0   2     2

POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
98-99 Windsor Spitfires OHL        3     80   0   1   10   7.50                    0   0   0     0
99-00 Windsor Spitfires OHL       12    616   5   6   32   3.11     377   .915     0   0   1    12
00-01 Windsor Spitfires OHL        9    519   4   5   27   3.12     287   .906     1   0   0     4
01-02 Norfolk Admirals AHL         4    238   1   2    8   2.01     109   .927     0   0   0     2
02-03 Norfolk Admirals AHL         4    240   3   1    7   1.75     101   .931     1   0   0     2
03-04 Norfolk Admirals AHL         4    212   2   1    2   0.57      91   .978     2   0   0     0

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